As the calendar has turned and we are into 2020, it has become clear that the two main storylines for the Cleveland Cavaliers are roster change and the NBA Draft. Having said that, it’s time to look at some updated trade suitors for Kevin Love.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a strange team to follow this season. There will be nights where they look like a solid team and a potential playoff team in the East but more often than not, there have been nights where they look like the worst team in the NBA.
The inconsistent play has led to a putrid 10-24 record that leaves them 5.5 games behind the Orlando Magic for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
It has become clear, even though they’ve had two separate, solid 10 game stretches this season that left them with a 9-11 record in those 20 games, that the biggest storylines remaining for Cleveland is which of their veterans do they move on from and which direction they will head in once the NBA Draft rolls around in June.
Koby Altman and the front office have already made one move when they sent bench scoring extraordinaire Jordan Clarkson to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Dante Exum and a couple of second-round picks.
Cleveland still has a few solid trade chips in their back pocket in the expiring contracts of Brandon Knight, John Henson, and Tristan Thompson. However, their biggest trade chip from an on-floor impact would be that of Kevin Love.
Love’s contract is a bit of an issue because he has just entered into his four-year, $120 million extension this season and it is scaring teams away due to his age and his impact likely isn’t worth $30 million per season.
Over the summer we discussed three potential landing spots for Love if he were dealt before the season. Of those three teams, the Atlanta Hawks are likely out on Love as they have had an extremely disappointing season and currently have the worst record in the NBA at 7-28. They will likely just let their young guys develop for the remainder of the season.
The Dallas Mavericks have been excellent this season, thanks in large part to budding superstar Luka Doncic, and they likely won’t want to disrupt what they have going for them.
That leads us to the number one trade partner for the Cavaliers, a team that’s been linked for a while for Love, the Portland Trail Blazers.